Cover versions

1. Which cover versions, in your opinion, are much better than the original?
I actually hear covers before I hear the original a lot of times. Kind of puts a bias. Just today I found out The Killers "Romeo and Juliet" is a Dire Straits cover. When I heard the Dire Straits version, I couldn't listen to it.
Others that aren't necessarily better, but good:
Metallica - Turn the Page (Bog Seger)

2. Which are excitingly different?
Guns N Roses version of Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney)
Framing Hanley version of Lollipop (Lil Wayne)
Alien Ant Farm version of Smooth Criminal (Michael Jackson)

3. Which cover versions, in your opinion, fail to live up to the original?
Forever the Sickest Kids covered Crazy Train (Ozzy) on some weird Punk Goes Classic Rock album. No good.

4. Are there any songs which, in your view, were done so perfectly by the original artist that any attempt to cover them is something akin to sacrilege?
Bohemian Rhapsody. And people have committed that sacrilege.

5. Any other thoughts on cover versions?
I have nothing against covers when done well

1. Which cover versions, in your opinion, are much better than the original?

Mad World by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews. I found their cover for it, for the movie 'Donnie Darko', to be better than the original by Tears for Fears. Just thought they got the emotions right for the song itself.

2. Which are excitingly different?

Land of Confusion by Disturbed. It was an interesting remake of the original song by Genesis.

Behind Blue Eyes by Limp Bizkit. Thought that their version of the song was ok enough.

3. Which cover versions, in your opinion, fail to live up to the original?

Bringin' on the Heartbreak by Mariah Carey. This version was so bad that even the disc jockies on the radio hated it . Just listening to it made my ears bleed. She managed to ruin a perfectly good song by Def Leppard.

Just found out that the Jonas Bros. did a remake of the song Take On Me by A-Ha. . Don't think I'd ever want to hear it...

1. Which cover versions, in your opinion, are much better than the original?

I like the Glee cover of "Shake It Out" better than the Florance & The Machine because I think the harmonizing in the Glee version works better. Though I know many Florance fans would disagree with my assessments.

2. Which are excitingly different?

Marilyn Mason's take on Sweet Dreams. Though I prefer the one Britney Spears used in her Circus Tour of the Mason cover.

I also really liked the Glee cover of "Imagine" by John Lennon.

3. Which cover versions, in your opinion, fail to live up to the original?

Can't think of any at the moment. Oh, wait, can I lump like 90% of the American Idol auditions/covers as one thing?

4. Are there any songs which, in your view, were done so perfectly by the original artist that any attempt to cover them is something akin to sacrilege?

Sad to say, but I actually preferred Nicki Mžnaj`s version of `Starships` over the horrid Glee cover.

5. Any other thoughts on cover versions?

I think that some of them can be really good if you aren`t automatically going to hate each and every potential cover. I mean, some of those Glee cover`s aren`t half bad, but if you mention that you like the Glee cover better than the original on Youtube, people are going to be mean and tell you you`re an idiot.

Also, I can't find a link to this anywhere, and it's not strictly a cover - the great Ben E King was performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival (I forget the year) and his band were late, so he took to the stage to perform "Stand By Me" with backing guitars by Def Leppard!

A couple of tracks that I don't think could ever be bettered by a cover version would be the aforementioned "Stand By Me" by Ben E King, and one of my all-time favourite songs, "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding.

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Just heard an incredible version of 'Stairway to Heaven' by Led Zepplin, redone by Heart. It was on this year's Kennedy Center honors. Both Ann and Nancy Wilson blew me away with their cover of that song. They really did it justice . Just found out that it's available on itunes for $1.29 tonight. Will definitely be getting this song when I can.

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